


Sol Sistere

by lovely_lil_lou



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 18 year old harry makes me upset, Alternate Universe, Cruise, F/M, Good times, M/M, Smut, Vacation, harrys taking a vacation with his family, i felt like niall and Gemma should be together too idk, it seems wrong but whatever, larry stylinson - Freeform, louis is a towel boy, so i put it in the fanfic, towel boy, ziam
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-12
Updated: 2014-05-04
Packaged: 2018-01-08 11:34:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1132152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovely_lil_lou/pseuds/lovely_lil_lou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Oh, Harry. Photograph me like one of your French girls." Louis teased as he laid down on Harry's bed, striking a 'sexy' pose. </p><p>Harry let out a short laugh and shook his head, gripping his camera firmly with both hands. "It won't work, Lou. You're fully clothed. Besides, I don't think that's how the quote is. Jack drew Rose..."</p><p>"So? Come on Harry. My hair looks good today." He whined, making a pouty face at Harry. </p><p>"Doesn't mind the fact that you're using the quote wrong. Rose was naked and you have khakis and a polo shirt on."</p><p>"Doesn't mean I can't change that." Louis replied, as he sat up and undid the first button on his shirt.</p><p>Oh. </p><p>-- </p><p>AU where Harry's family goes on a two-week cruise and Harry falls in love with the towel boy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

He had only been on this piece of shit named the "Celebrity Solstice" for one minute, and he absolutely hated it. 

It wasn't that he was one of those ungrateful, stuck-up rich kids that hated anything they received, and it wasn't that he was about to set off on a 'glorious' two-week cruise to the Pacific Ocean. Actually, he was quite excited to see all of the sights that Wikipedia had described with vivid adjectives, giving the west that certain appeal that he just couldn't feel with Europe anymore. Europe was tired and he had seen everything that was fun to see there, and the Pacific was new and it sounded wonderful and warm and exciting. And the pictures he had seen on Google Images… They looked so magnificent. Though, he knew if he brought his camera with him, he could snap better photos than those stupid stock ones with the obnoxious watermarks that he kept seeing before he left.

Giving the lobby of the ship a once over, he decided this would be the first picture of the trip. The gold accented railing of the stairs contrasted with the cherry red wood flooring. All of the tapestries on the floor, woven with perfect swirled patterns, laid symmetrically throughout the lobby. Couches and chairs and loveseats all placed in perfect spots were already occupied by some of the cruise-goers he would see around the ship for the next two weeks. The glass that encased the golden elevator to the far right, shined in the light coming form the magnificent skylight above his head. 

He popped the lens cap off, slipping it into his back pocket as he raised the camera to his face. A couple of muffled sounds coming from the lens adjusting and a shutter snap later, he had a decent picture with perfect lighting, and more strangers than he could count on his fingers. Maybe if he tried it again, he could get one with less people…

"Harry, will you please pay attention?" Anne begged her son, tugging at the hem of his shirt as she passed him on her way to the elevator, his sister Gemma, and his step-father Robin already inside the car, impatiently holding the door open for them. 

"Yeah, sorry." He mumbled an apology to his mom, brushing his hand over his hair before he secured the lens cap back onto his camera. Following his mom inside, he stared out the glass at all of the people who were slowly becoming more distant. It wasn't that he was ungrateful, but he was almost certain that he would go crazy by the third day. If it wasn't his mom's constant begging for him to do things, it was either going to be Gemma's amazing ability to continually find things to tease him about, or a lack of people to talk to other than his family. Of course, he had already browsed the lads he would be embarking on this almost-too-long journey with, and almost all of them were either twelve or thirty and above, and at his young but adventurous age of eighteen, he was pretty sure he would go crazy before finding at least one guy his age to talk to.

"What were you taking a picture of anyways? The 'beautiful' scenery of old farts adjusting their visors? Or maybe was it the gorgeous upholstery of the chairs?" Gemma teased with a half-smirk, using her fisted hand to push Harry into the elevator wall.

"Shut up, Gem. You're gonna be the one regretting the fact that you didn't take any pictures, and watch. When you ask me if you can see the ones I took, I'm gonna say no." This was how they normally conversed. Gemma would say something, and Harry would come up with a lame, on-the-spot answer that Gemma would think was too funny to counter. She laughed, and Harry, frustrated with how she couldn't go a minute without teasing him, deliberately pinched her as hard as he could on the arm.

"Ow!" He flinched, pulling his arm away and smirking over at her, content with his attempt to get her back. "Twat." She sharply cursed, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes at her little brother.

"Hey, we're supposed to be on this vacation as a family, so could we all be nice to each other?" Anne asked, walking out of the elevator without any eye contact once they had reached their floor. 

"Sorry mom." Harry mumbled, glaring at Gemma before following his mother and Robin down the lengthy hallway. They passed several numbered wooden doors before coming across '9012' and '9014', the number plates framed with the same golden accent that had been on the hand railings. One room was for Robin and Anne, and the other for Gemma and Harry. Yet another aspect of this 'lovely' vacation that Harry had to share with his sister. 

"Here are the keys. Make sure you don't lose them, okay?" Anne asked of Harry and Gemma, knowing their tendency of losing important things. 

"Sounds peachy, mom. Thank you." Gemma replied with a smile, pressing a kiss to her mother's cheek before unlocking the door to room 9014. "Come on, Harry. Let's go put our stuff away."

Harry nodded, sighing silently to himself before following her inside the cabin, taking the opportunity to look around, starting with the bathroom.

It was quite small. Actually, everything in the room was quite small, and he only really realized that when it came time for him to put his clothes away. Apparently, the closet had only enough room to fit about half of Gemma's clothes, leading her to stuff the other half of her belongings in ALL of the available drawers in the dresser. It left Harry no choice but to keep his clothes in his suitcase under one of the beds, where they would stay (and become wrinkly) for the duration of the cruise. The only thing he could really unpack was his bathroom kit, which he found room for under the sink, since Gem had already taken up all of the counter space with her various hair and make-up products.

"You know, you're not the only one that's using this room, right?" He asked, annoyed with how she always figured that since she was older, she had exclusive access to everything before he did.

"Yeah, but I'm older." 

He knew that she would say that.

"Whatever, I'm gonna go… Do something. I don't know. Tell mom I'm going."

"Wait, you can't go though." Harry turned back towards his sister, confused as to why she was denying him the right to leave. Usually she would be ecstatic that he was ditching her. 

"What? Why?"

"We have to do that pretend emergency thing. You know, where you grab your life jacket and pretend the ship is sinking like the Titanic. They make you report to a room and everything."

"What? I'm sure if the ship was sinking, people wouldn't be calmly walking to a room. Dontcha think they would want to get off as fast as they could?"

"Don't question it, Harry. Just let it happen."

"Okay, fine. I won't leave then. I guess I'll just… Sleep." He mumbled, mostly to himself, as he shuffled back to his bed, peeling the covers back to reveal the crisp white sheets which he quickly crumpled with the weight of his body. Laid out on his back, he tilted his tan fedora over his eyes, preventing the light from seeping through his eyelids. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep, the faint sound of Gemma's music floating through the air from the bathroom where she was re-applying her eye make-up for the second time in the past six hours.

\--

His dream of giving Alex Turner a blowjob was suddenly interrupted by loud bells ringing from the hallway. Gemma was already digging through the cabinet to retrieve the life vests when he sat up and repositioned his hat atop his head. What a wonderful way to interrupt his wonderful dream. 

"Hey, can you hand me one?" Harry asked his sister groggily, and she did with a little smirk, noticing how tired he still was.

"Come on, we better go meet mom and Robin."

"Yeah, I guess." He replied, walking out of the room with a grimace.

He had been on this fucking cruise ship for an hour and three minutes, and he still absolutely hated it.


	2. Chapter Two

"Stop poking me," Gemma harshly whispered at Harry, seizing his finger in her firm grip. 

Harry replied with a quiet chuckle, covering his mouth with the back of his giant hand. The cruise ship worker shot a glare at him and he smiled, tuning into what the brunette girl was saying. 

She seemed overly perky and she had an annoying voice, but the guy next to Harry seemed mesmerized by the way she spoke and gestured towards a large map of the ship. It was probably just because she had nice boobs, but maybe she had a nice personality. 

"Is she your girlfriend?" Harry asked, leaning toward the blonde haired boy. 

"What?" He sounded Irish... "She's not my girlfriend." Definitely Irish. 

"Come on, you look like you're worshipping her with your eyes." 

"I'm definitely not." That earned an eyeroll from Harry, and he shook his head. 

"You definitely fancy her."

"Okay, I might've flirted with her a bit before this started." There it was. 

"Thought so. What's your name?"

"Niall. Your's?"

"Harry." He said a bit too loud, smiling like an idiot. Gemma socked her brother in the arm and shushed the two, and Harry just laughed. "Sorry Gem."

"-and, that's it. Thank you for joining us on the Celebrity Solstice! Maybe you'll see me around in the next two weeks." Her smile seemed to light up her whole face, and it distracted Harry from what she was saying. It was a nice smile, but it was really distracting and fake looking. "If you do, don't hesitate to say hello or ask me any questions. I hope you have a lovely day." The girl in the front of the room concluded, and Niall smirked. 

"I'll be sure to say hello. Don't worry honey. You won't be able to resist this Irish hottie once I show you the-" Niall said loud enough for only Harry to hear, wiggling his eyebrows. It caused both of them to break out into manly giggles, and all of the rooms occupants turned to look at the two boys, obviously annoyed with their persistent laughing and whispering. 

"Oh, uh. Sorry guys." Harry apologized to the crowd, doing a terrible job at hiding his smile. 

"Hey, you guys wanna go get some pizza?" Niall asked Harry, standing from his chair and slinging his life jacket over his forearm. 

"Yeah, sure!" Harry happily replied, looking over at Gemma. "You wanna come with Gem?"

"I would rather not, but I'm actually starving, so I may as well. Don't talk about girls the whole time though, or I might ditch you guys."

"Gem, you do realize i don't like girls...?" 

"Yeah, but blondie does."

Harry and Gemma both looked over at Niall, who had been staring at Gemma since he heard Harry first talk to her. It was blatantly obvious that he was staring, and Harry sighed.

"Niall."

"Huh? Oh, yeah." He zoned back ito the conversation and continued on with pink cheeks, "The pizza place is on the main deck. Maybe we can get there before a the rest of the people."

"Kay, let's go then." Gemma sighed, walking out of the room with her head tilted down to scroll through her emails on her phone. 

"Who's that?" Niall asked Harry as they followed her into the hallway, keeping quite a distance between them so she didn't overhear. 

"Gemma, my sister. Hot isn't she?" Harry joked, nudging Niall's side with his elbow. 

"She actually is..." He replied with a little smile, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

"Little shit!" Harry pushed Niall's shoulder and laughed to make it seem lighter, "You weren't supposed to agree with that."

"Oh.. Okay." 

"Don't worry. I was only kidding. Maybe you would make her nicer." He opened the door for Niall and walked in after him, looking around for Gemma. 

"Are you actually... Gay?" Niall asked as Harry spotted his sister and walked towards the table she had claimed. 

"Yeah. I've been 'out' since I was fifteen." 

"Oh. That's a while." He mumbled as he approached the table, sitting down in front of Gemma. 

"Yeah, not many eligible guys in my area. Not a problem, though, since I'm sure the 'one' is out there somewhere." Harry say next to his sister and smirked, crossing his arms and resting his elbows on the table. 

"Hey! I actually met a couple when I was getting on here. They were our age and they were gay. I think their names were... Uh..." He rubbed the bridge of his nose and snapped his fingers when the names came to him, "Liam and Zayn. They were really nice. Maybe we'll see them around." 

"Yeah, that would be cool. I could use a couple of friends, since we'll be on here for two weeks..." 

"I think i need to make friends too." Gemma mumbled, fumbling with the straw that was stuck in her glass of water. 

"I'll be your friend." Niall suggested with a cute smile, staring across the table at Gemma, taking in everything about her. 

"Oh, uh. Yeah, sure. I guess." She replied hesitantly, smiling back at him. 

"Anyways, about this couple... What are they like? Do they have any friends? Can I meet them?" Harry interrogated Niall, leaning forward with each question. 

"Harry, leave the poor boy alone." Gemma smiled at Niall, and he blushed. 

"Thanks. We can meet them, Harry. I'll just have to find them later."

"Awesome!" Harry smiled as the waitress approached their table and asked for their orders. Harry and Gemma each ordered their own salads and Niall got two slices of pizza. 

\-- 

"You people eat like birds!" Niall shook his head and pointed at Gemma's half eaten salad and Harry's barely-touched side of breadsticks that he had ordered. 

"Sorry, Niall. Gotta keep in shape for the ladies." Harry winked and laughed, nudging Gemma with his hand. "Hey Gem, should we go back and meet mom and Robin? We're probably gonna have to do family stuff." 

"Yeah. We should probably go. It was nice meeting you, Niall." 

Niall smiled at Gemma and stood up, holding out his arms for a hug. "It was nice meeting you too!"

Gemma rolled her eyes and got up, giving Niall a big hug. She figured he would appreciate her generosity, and he did. His cheeks turned bright red, and his arms instinctually wrapped around her back. 

"Okay, lovebirds. Time to let go." Harry teased, wedging his hands in between their stomachs. "Come onnnn."

Niall's cheeks turned a brighter shade of red, and Gemma shook her head. 

"You're ridiculous, Harry. See ya, Niall." She waved before walking off, and Harry laughed. 

"Sorry, man. It was just awkward seeing my sister get more action than me. I'll see you around. If you see Liam and Zayn, tell them that they should come meet me. My room's 9014."

"I'll try to remember that. No promises."

"Right," Harry patted Niall's shoulder and grinned. "I'll see you around, mate."

"Yeah, see you around, Harry." 

Harry smiled and walked quickly to catch up with his sister, grabbing the back of her shirt as he approached her. 

"Ass." Gemma muttered, glaring up at him as he goofily grinned. 

"Sorry sis."

"Mom texted and said that they were at the pool. We should go there and hang out with them i guess."

"Kay. I'm not swimming though. I'm tired..." 

"Yeah, me too. We can go back to the room after a few minutes."

"Sounds good."

The brother and sister walked silently the rest of the way, and once they reached their parents, Harry plopped down in the chair next to them, cuddling the towels that had been laid out there. They were warm, and when he closed his eyes, he pictured himself behind the love of his life, he the big spoon and his love the little one. He would lace their fingers together and run his thumb across the back of his love's hand. They would kiss lazily, and look into each other's eyes, and just lay and kiss and talk and things would be perfect. Well, they would be... If he had someone to do those things with. 

"Harry? We need the towels now..." Anne asked, dripping pool water on his face and fedora. 

Harry opened his eyes and sat up, handing Anne one towel and Robin the other. They both dried off as best they could, but Anne sighed. 

"Harry, can you get me another towel please?" 

"Why can't Gemma do it?"

"Too busy." Gemma mumbled scrolling down her Facebook newsfeed from her phone. 

"Fine." He glared at his sister before rolling off of the lounge chair and pushing himself to his feet. 

He rubbed his face with his hand and sighed as he walked up to the towel shack looking thing. 

"Can I get a towel, please?" He asked the towel boy, who had been folding towels with his back to him. 

"Oh, yeah. Here." He turned and handed Harry a freshly folded towel, and his eyes widened a bit. 

Harry had seen plenty of beautiful guys in his life, but nobody compared to him. His skin was perfectly tanned, and it probably didn't help that his bright, white polo shirt made his skin appear darker. His eyes were a shade of blue green that Harry had never seen before. His hair was perfectly styled into a quiff, and Harry was completely puzzled as to how someone could actually be that perfect. 

"Are you going to take your towel or should I put it back?" The towel boy said, snapping Harry out of his trance-like state. 

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Thanks." He told the man, smiling at him before walking back to his family. 

It had been five hours and thirty six minutes since he had stepped onto this boat, and maybe the next two weeks wouldn't be that bad.


	3. Chapter Three

Click. 

Harry peered over the top of his camera's viewfinder, staring at the bright sunrise over the ocean. 

Click.

He took another picture of the sky, not bothering to look at it. Sometimes the best pictures were the ones you didn't expect to take. 

Click. Click. 

"Harry, will you stop?" Gemma mumbled into the covers, her eyes still shut and her hair a messy tangle around her. 

"Sorry. Have you seen the sunrise though? It's so pretty..."

"I don't care. Shut the blinds and stop, please. I'm trying to sleep." She mumbled, turning under the covers to face the other way. Her brown hair glowed in the sunlight, and everything was perfect for a picture. Harry stood to the side of the window and closed one of his eyes to look through the viewfinder of his camera. He focused the lens and snapped two pictures of Gemma, and when he checked the pictures, his lips curled into a satisfied smile. 

"Are you taking pictures of me?" Gemma snapped, her voice still groggy from sleep. 

"Sorry, Gem. I couldn't pass up such a good picture." 

He replaced the lens cap on his camera and sat it on top of the dresser. He reached far enough to grab the edge of the curtains with his pointer finger and middle finger, and he pulled it shut. 

"Whatever. You can do whatever, but I won't be up for another hour." She mumbled before stuffing her face in between two pillows to block out any left over sun in the tiny room. 

Maybe Harry could go find Niall. He seemed a bit kooky, and a little girl-crazy, but he also seemed like a nice guy. Harry could get along with him easily. And besides, maybe he had found Liam and Zayn. He could quite possibly gain two more friends out of this cruise. 

He debated for a couple of minutes and finally decided, yeah, he would go and find Niall as soon as he looked decent enough to leave the room. Something told him that his short white running shorts and shirtless torso wouldn't be accepted around the general population of the boat. 

Grabbing a few things from his suitcase, he made his way into the cramped bathroom and switched on the shower. The shower head made a clank and began to spit out cold water that quickly turned to warm. He turned on a playlist of music and dropped his shorts to his ankles before stepping inside the tiny shower. 

The water hit his chest, and he sighed. Since the shower was made for short people, he had to bend down a bit to wash his hair. It was definitely a hassle, but it was the best he could do. He lathered his body with soap and rinsed it off. After scrubbing his face, and switching off the water, he wrapped a towel around his hips and stepped out of the warm air of the shower. The cold air that filled the rest of the bathroom stung at his skin and sent a shiver down his spine. He dried himself off and slid on a pair of black boxer briefs, then a pair of black jeans. They were a bit tight, and they had a rip in the knee, but although his family always teased him about wearing them, they were his favorite and one of the only pairs of jeans he was willing to wear. He stuck his arms through the holes of a tank top, and he pulled it down so that it hung loosely against his torso. 

After brushing his teeth and shaking the excess water from his hair, he pushed the front couple of damp brown curls away from his face and pushed a black and red Chicago Bulls snapback backwards on his head. 

"Gem, I'm leaving," He called out as he burst out of the bathroom, collecting a room key and his iphone. He stuffed everything in his pockets and hung a pair of black raybans from the front of his shirt before leaping onto Gemma's small bed. 

"Goodbye sister," He teased goofily, kissing her cheek quickly before rolling to his feet and leaving the room before she could hit him. 

Strolling down the hallway proved to be difficult for him. As he scrolled through Instagram, he attempted to walk with one foot right in front of the other. It wasn't exactly easy, and there were multiple times when he had almost fallen into the wall or other people navigating the hall. By the time he reached the elevator, he decided to stop the goofy steps so that he didn't hurt himself or anyone around him. He stepped inside the elevator car and pressed the 'L' button, wedging one hand between his bicep and torso, using his other hand to scroll through facebook. 

The elevator traveled three floors non-stop before it stopped on floor four. A familiar face walked through the doors once they opened, and Harry grinned. 

"Niall!" He exclaimed, slipping his phone into his back pocket so he could hug his new friend. Two men walked in after Niall, and Harry smiled at them. 

"Harry, hey! This is Zayn and Liam. They found me at breakfast, and I was just about to go find you." 

"I think this is some weird kind of fate, yeah?" Liam commented with a little chuckle, his arms slipping around Zayn's tummy. 

"Seems to be." Harry replied with a grin, holding a hand out to Liam and Zayn, not really caring who shook it first. "I'm Harry." 

Liam seemed to be more 'out there' than Zayn, and he grasped Harry's hand first. "Liam," He said happily, and Harry could've puked from how cute they were together. 

"Zayn," Zayn followed, also smiling and gripping Harry's hand, though his grasp was gentler. 

"Very nice to meet you," Harry replied as he and the other boys reached the Lobby level. They walked out of the doors one-by-one and all stopped by a couple of chairs. 

"What now?" Niall asked the group, and everyone shrugged. 

"I've heard the pool is pretty cool..." Harry pointed out, hoping that they would all agree on going there. Maybe that cute towel boy would just so happen to be working at the stand when they got there. Of course, it would be a complete coincidence that Harry would somehow get wet enough to need a towel, and- oh, it just so happens to be that one guy from yesterday! 

"Been there. Not that great." Niall commented, shrugging before sticking his hands in his pockets. 

"I haven't seen it yet..." Zayn said, looking over at Harry with a little smile. Maybe he knew that Harry was fond of the towel boy. Probably not, but why would he smile at Harry then? 

"Yeah, I haven't either." Liam added. 

"So, pool?" Harry asked the boys, smiling at Niall who seemed visibly unhappy about the group's decision. 

"Yeah, guess so." Niall said before walking toward the pool alone. 

"Niall, wait up!" Liam shouted, letting go of Zayn to catch up to the blonde boy, resting an arm around his shoulders. That left Harry and Zayn to walk to the pool together, and it was honestly quite awkward. 

They walked in silence for a minute or so, until Zayn asked, "So, you know the towel boy's gay, right?"

"What?" Harry looked over at Zayn and raised an eyebrow. 

"I know you know which one I'm talking about," He smirked and continued, "No one wants to go to a place with screaming kids and old people in swimsuits for no good reason. Liam and I were talking to him while we were at the pool yesterday. He's a nice lad, lives in Doncaster, and he's gay."

"Really?" Harry asked. He seemed surprised, but in all reality, he wasn't. The boy seemed gay, but it was wrong to assume, and Harry told himself last night that he shouldn't think about it. It didn't really work. 

"Yeah. His name's Louis. He's very nice, very polite. I can see why you would think he's attractive." 

If it wasn't his looks, 'Louis' would probably kill Harry with his kindness, from what he was gathering with the things Zayn was telling him. They neared the pool and looked around for Niall and Liam. Zayn spotted them sitting at a table. They both walked over to join them, and Zayn sat in a chair next to Liam. Harry stayed standing, scanning the area for any signs of the towel boy. 

"Looking for me?" Louis asked, and Harry nearly jumped all the way off of the cruise ship. 

"Oh my god." He gripped his shirt tightly and took deep breaths, relaxing his shoulders. "You scared the absolute shit out of me." 

"Thought so." He smirked, and Harry's heart melted, "You guys in need of any towels?" Everyone shook their heads no, and Louis shrugged. 

"Shit. When did you appear behind me?" Harry asked him, looking down to admire the height difference between them. It was actually perfect, but he looked away so he didn't come off as creepy for staring for too long. 

"When you were looking the wrong way." Louis laughed and Harry frowned. 

"Oh."

"Hey Louis," Liam and Zayn said in sync. They both waved at him and Louis smiled. And shit, wow. His smile was so pretty. 

"Hey! Who's your friend?"

"I'm Harry," Harry said, smiling a little and holding out a hand. 

"Louis," Louis replied, shaking Harry's hand. His touch made Harry's stomach do backflips, and all he could do was smile to keep from grabbing his face and kissing him. 

"And that's Niall back there. He's upset because my sister hasn't joined us today." Harry said, looking back at Niall with a smirk. 

Niall didn't bother looking up from his phone before he replied, "His sister's hot. And everyone here's old."

His comment earned an eyeroll from Harry, and the Irish boy smiled. "Love you babycakes." 

"Whatever blondie," Harry sat down in a chair at the table. "Would you like to join us, Louis?" He asked properly, sitting up with his hands folded on top of the table with a shy smile. 

Louis crinkled his nose and sighed, "I would totally, but I'm working. I get off right before dinner though, so could I join you guys for food later?"

Liam, Zayn and Niall nodded, and Harry sighed. "I'm with my family. Maybe I can get out of 'family dinner' though."

"We're on our own for dinner," A familiar voice pointed out, and Harry turned to see Gemma in a black bikini. Her hair was up in a bun and she had a dark pair of sunglasses on. Harry could already tell that Niall was dying inside. 

"Oh, okay. I can join for dinner then." He told Louis with a cute smile. 

"Fabulous. I'll be looking forward to that then. I should really get back to work though. I'll meet you guys at the café at six thirty." He told them before walking off. 

"I'm coming with," Gemma told Harry, sitting on the floor near the table. 

"Oh, Gemma. You can sit in my chair." Niall suggested, standing up and gesturing towards the chair. 

"No, it's okay, Niall. Thank you though. That was very sweet of you." 

Her comment caused Niall's cheeks to turn red, and he sat back down in his chair. 

"Harry," Gemma looked up at her brother and punched his shin, "Did you hear me? I'm coming with you guys to dinner."

Harry had heard her, but her words went in one ear and out the other. Nothing really matter at the moment. His thoughts wouldn't stop racing, and he wasn't sure what to do. He was going to dinner with the prettiest boy he had ever seen, and he wasn't sure how to deal with it. 

What was he going to wear? Would Louis turn out to be a complete ass? How would Louis like Harry? Why was he even worrying about this so much?

He looked up at Gemma and nodded, "Okay, that's fine. You can keep Niall company." Niall's cheeks turned red, and Harry smirked slightly. He definitely liked Gemma. 

They sat there for the next hour and a half, talking about whatever popped into their minds at the moment, and Harry even managed to steal a couple of glances of Louis without anyone noticing. When it came time for lunch, Harry and Gemma said goodbye to the boys to meet their parents at the pizza place, and the brother and sister smiled and laughed the whole walk there. 

It had been nearly twenty-four hours since his family boarded the Celebrity Solstice, and wow, he suddenly had a really good feeling about the rest of this cruise.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been hesitant to upload a new chapter, but I decided to type one up anyways. I was sick today, so I'll blame that for any errors in the writing. Thank you again for reading, and I promise it will get more interesting soon. So thank you for sticking with me. :-)

"Wow, Harry. You clean up well." Gemma teased, glancing over at his semi-formal outfit for the night while she applied a thick second coat of super black mascara.

"So do you." He replied as his eyes stared down at her tight black dress and her shiny brown hair styled in loose waves. Her skin had definitely tanned a bit already, which made her look like she was glowing, "Geeze, got someone to impress?" He asked, although he already knew who she wanted to impress. She had her sights set on Niall, and Harry was pretty sure the little Irish arse felt the same about her. He complimented her nonstop and his cheeks turned a shade of red that didn't fade until Gemma was out of his line of vision. It was nothing that he could control though, and maybe it would turn out to be a cute relationship in the end. 

"Are you ready to go, H?" Gemma asked, patting Harry on the shoulder reassuringly, and steering his mind out of his thoughts of his sister with Niall. He shrugged her hand off and stared into the bathroom mirror, staring into Gemma's eyes. 

"Yeah," He replied with fake enthusiasm, "Totally not going to feel like a fifth wheel with you and niall and zayn and liam."

"Harry, you know that pool guy is going. And I know that you think he's hot. You were practically drooling over him when we were with mom and Robin at the pool," She snaked her arms around his slim hips and frowned, resting her head in the crook of his neck. "You need to be careful though. Mom is having a good time on the trip... And you know Robin would turn angry the second he found out you're not keen on women."

Harry looked down at Gemma and wrapped a long arm around his sister's waist in return. "Yeah, I know. I mean, he probably wouldn't be interested in hanging out with me anyways. He seems older, and he has pretty blue eyes and his hair is fucking perfect and I don't understand how he can look like that and go for someone like me."

"Harry stop being such a Debbie Downer," She pushed him away with a sharp elbow jab to his side, and she plucked a random hair that had been sticking up in the front of his face. "You just need to have a good time tonight, okay? It'll all turn out peachy, and stop thinking you're not good enough for anyone. You'll find someone some day who will treat you like you're worth all the money in the world. So please stop thinking about that dick that fucking up and left you, because he's worthless, and you're perfect."

"Okay, yeah." Harry replied softly, wanting to change the subject. "You ready to go?" He asked as he straightened his heart printed shirt so that the buttons were in a straight line along his torso. The shirt gripped his chest just tightly enough to slightly restrict his movements, but it was one of his favorite shirts, and he thought that he looked really good in it which could come in handy if Louis did end up coming with them. 

Gemma smiled and nodded in response, walking out of the bathroom to grab her red heels and giving Harry a kiss on the cheek as she passed him. She slipped the shoes onto her feet with ease, using Harry's shoulder to stabilize herself so that she didn't topple over. "Okay, I think we're all okay now." Grabbing her phone and one of the room keys, she slipped them into a red clutch and swung the heavy wooden door open. "Come on now. Time to go on our triple date." She winked and laughed, and Harry rolled his eyes and followed her out into the hallway, immediately coming face-to-face with his mother and her husband.

"Oh! Harry, Gemma. You two look nice tonight. What's this I hear about a 'triple date'?" Anne asked her children, looping her arm through Robin's and leaning her head against his upper arm. 

Harry and Gemma smiled, but on the inside they were both panicking. They exchanged looks and were both unsure of what to say in reply. How were they supposed to tell them that they were going out with an Irish kid, a gay couple, and the hot towel boy from the cruise ship's pool?

"Oh, dearest mother, don't worry about it." Gemma said, allowing Harry to breathe normally again. Leave it to the older sister to save the day and their lives. To make the act more believable, she hung an arm around Harry's neck. "We'll be back at a decent time of night, and we're only going to get a bite to eat and maybe go explore the ship a little bit."

"That's wonderful to hear." Robin joined in, smiling at Harry and Gemma alongside his wife.

"Yeah," Harry mumbled, checking the time on his phone. It was three minutes before they were all supposed to meet at the cafe and Harry's heart stopped beating for a second at the thought of seeing Louis in clothes other than khakis and a tacky blue polo shirt. No clothes... What if he just showed up wearing nothing? He wouldn't. Why was Harry even thinking about this? "Gemma, we have to go now or we're going to be late. We'll see you guys later." He grabber her wrist and tugged her down the hallway, repeating 'Keep your thoughts to yourself. Keep your thoughts to yourself.' until they arrived at the elevators.

"Well..." Gemma smirked.

"Best that you don't tell our family you want to make out with the Irish kid." Harry joked, nudging Gemma with his elbow to take away a bit of the tension that had been created by their parents, and to distract him from his unholy thoughts. Really though, what would Louis look like without clothes on? Probably like he was fucking chiseled out of the finest piece of marble by the Greek gods themselves. He would probably be so pretty, and it would probably make harry feel even worse about being with him. Just his presence would make Louis appear less attractive. 

Well, shit. 

Harry let out a sigh as the elevator reached the fourth floor, and he stepped aside to let Gemma through the doors first. Harry followed her out and spotted Niall standing by a tall square pedestal with a big vase of red daisies set on top. He laughed as Niall's cheeks went from his normal skin tone to a vivid shade of red, almost identical to the flowers. His mood instantly changed to happy and he gave his friend a smack on the back.

"You clean up nicely, Niall. Wouldn't you agree, Gems?" 

"Yeah, you look nice, Niall. I very much like the cardigan. It looks soft..." She smiled, running her hand up and down the side of his arm, feeling the fabric of his sweater, which only made the red in his cheeks deepen. 

"T-Thanks. You look beautiful, Gemma. The dress is a nice one on you."

"Aw, thanks. You're so sweet." She pressed a kiss to his cheek and he looked down at his hands, rubbing his sweaty palms together. Harry laughed at Niall's shyness, and shook his head slowly. Gemma was probably eating this up since she was obviously giving him the flirty compliments and kissing his cheek on purpose. She probably liked seeing Niall blush and enjoyed the compliments more than anything. 

"Hello," Zayn and Liam greeted the group in sync, smiling as they swung their intertwined hands in between their hips. Harry looked up and smiled at the couple. They were probably the best looking couple Harry had ever seen, and he could only assume that Niall and Gemma agreed with him. They both looked like they were straight out of a high-end fashion magazine, and that caused Harry to feel a sense of overwhelming jealousy towards them. 

"Hi, Zayn. Hi, Liam." Harry greeted them in return, waving slightly before fumbling with the hem of his shirt out of nervousness and boredom. "You guys showed up at the wrong time. Niall and Gemma were just about to start making out." He looked up towards Niall and his sister who were both giving him the dirtiest of looks. 

"Hi guys." Niall mumbled, glaring at Harry who just smiled his way. "I actually fucking hate you, Harold."

"Love you too, Niall." Harry replied with a smirk, checking the time on his phone again. It was two minutes past the time everyone was supposed to meet, and Louis the Towel Boy still wasn't with them. Maybe he forgot. Maybe he didn't want to come. "Is that everyone?" He asked, hoping that someone would remember that Louis said he would come with them. Did Liam or Zayn talk to him?

"Louis' still comin', right?" Niall asked, directing his gaze mostly toward Zayn and Liam since they knew him better than the others. 

"Yeah, he should be here..." Liam answered, looking over Harry's shoulder as Louis himself walked up to the group, laying an arm around the curly haired boy's neck. "Right now, I guess. Hi, Louis." He smiled over at Louis and Harry as Harry looked back at Liam with wide eyes. 

Harry couldn't breathe. Louis' arm was hanging around the back of his neck, and his hand was touching Harry's shoulder and he couldn't fucking breathe. 

"Hello all. Harry, I see you've gotten all fancy tonight." He commented, pinching Harry's cheek with the hand that had been strewn lazily over his shoulder and wiggling his eyebrows to tease him a little. Was Louis the fucking hot Towel Boy teasing Harry right now or was this all just some sick joke?

"Mmhmm, everyone looks nice, and then there's you." Zayn joked, smiling as he gestured toward Louis' white t-shirt and black jeans that hugged his arse perfectly. They were rolled up to just above his ankles, which showed off the bottom of his ankle tattoos. As Harry looked down to admire Louis' outfit, Niall announced that he would be happier if they were eating food, and everyone seemed to agree. Zayn and Liam walked hand-in-hand down the hallway, followed by Niall and Gemma who stepped in sync and were a bit to close to be friends. It left Louis and Harry in an awkward situation, and Harry slid his hands into his pockets just to do something with them. 

"So..." Harry began, drawing out the 'o'. He snuck a glance of Louis, admiring his tanned skin and his swishy light brown hair and his really blue eyes and the way he looked when he walked down the hallway. Everything about him was absolute perfection, and just the thought of walking beside someone this pretty made Harry want to projectile vomit. 

"So, I'm just going to assume that this is going to be one hell of an awkward night, yeah?" Louis asked Harry, raising his perfect eyebrows which caused his perfect forehead to fold in three perfect lines. 

"Yeah. Niall fancies my sister, and Zayn and Liam are such a perfect couple," Shit, what was Harry even saying? He felt a twist in his stomach, and he stopped talking to think about the next thing he would say. "I'm not-"

"Well, as long as they don't start making out at the table, I'm okay with being stuck as the fifth wheel." Louis interrupted, peeking down the long hallway to the left as they got to the end of the one they had been walking along. Niall's laugh echoed off of the walls of the right hallway, and Harry pointed down that one. 

They started walking at a faster pace to try and catch up to the couples that had somehow gotten quite a distance ahead of them, laughing at how their steps had somehow synchronized without them realizing it. 

"We were gonna grab that booth over there in the corner." Niall informed the boys, pointing over to a big table with red seats. 

"Okay." The group all said, agreeing to Niall's choice in table location. 

They all walked to the table, and of course, Niall sat across from Gemma, Zayn sat on Niall's side, next to Liam, and Harry's only option was to sit in between Louis and Gemma. The waitress came to take their drink orders and everyone ordered a water except for Niall, who ordered a large glass of beer. 

"What?" He asked, suppressing a chuckle as the group gave him a funny look. 

"Nothing. Do as you wish." Louis reassured, his eyes wandering to Harry as he flashed a smile. Harry stared back at him and couldn't help but cringe internally because, damn, his teeth looked especially white against his pink lips and his skin was really glowing in the low light of the restaurant. 

The waitress came back to record what they all wanted, and Niall and Gemma were too busy flirting to notice so Zayn and Liam went first. They ordered a grilled cheese and fries for the both of them since they 'weren't very hungry', and after a kick to Niall's shin from Harry, Niall managed to order a hamburger for him and a salad for Gemma. 

"Guess it's just you and I, Harry." Louis announced, patting Harry's thigh before pointing to a shrimp and spinach pizza. "Up to trying something new?" 

Before Harry could counter Louis' idea, the towel boy was already ordering the disgusting pizza. The waitress smiled at them and took their menus, walking away from the table. Zayn and Liam went back to talking about their favorite songs and Niall and Gemma appeared to be in a completely different world. Harry reached out to take a sip of his drink, resisting the urge to overthink the fact that Louis' hand was still resting on the middle of his thigh. Maybe he just forgot it was there. 

But maybe not. 

Harry's stomach continued to flip when he learned that Louis crinkled his nose when he laughed. Harry had told him one of his dumb knock-knock jokes, and after they had both calmed down, Louis burst into another laughing fit when he found out that Harry had an extra set of nipples. 

Everyone's food came and Harry realized that Louis even appeared perfect when he ate. He chewed with his mouth open sometimes, but that was nothing to think too much about. They chatted between each other and ate and laughed until they were the only ones with food still on their plates. 

"All finished here?" The waitress asked with an evidently fake smile. Harry and Louis nodded simultaneously, and their almost untouched pizza was whisked away by the dainty hands of their server. The pizza turned out to taste just as bad as it sounded, and they ended up mooching off of the others' plates to fill their tummies with a sufficient amount of fries and sandwiches. 

"So... what now?" Niall asked the group, one of his arms resting on the back of Gemma's chair. His confidence around Gemma had evidently grown during the dinner, and that made Harry smile slightly. 

"We could do anything really. I take it you don't come on cruise ships often..." Louis paused for a moment and snapped as an idea came to his mind, "I could go raid the stock room in the lower decks. It has a few bottles of alcohol and I may or may not have hidden some of it in a file cabinet while we were restocking the ship at the port. We'll take them to the deck at the bow, since no one ever bothers to go there." 

"Sounds like a good time!" Niall replied, "Hard liquor isn't my forte but I can drink it for one night."

"I don't know... I'm pretty tired." Liam countered, glancing at Zayn who also looked as if he was hesitant about it. 

"We can just go sleep then, yeah?" Zayn asked, directing the question mostly toward Liam. 

"Aww come on, don't be-" Louis tried to argue, but was cut off by Liam's reply. 

"Yeah. Maybe we should sleep so we can hit the gym in the morning and then go for breakfast."

"Sounds good to me," Zayn replied, scooting out of the booth quickly, Liam following him closely. "It's been nice talking with you guys. We'll see you around." They both smiled at the group and waved before turning away from their friends. Everyone shouted a goodbye to the couple as they walked out of the restaurant.

"Okay then... Anyone still want me to go grab the bottles?"

"Yeah, we'll meet you there and we can hang for a while." Niall said, scooting to the edge of the booth's seat, preparing himself for their departure. 

"Remember, the front of the ship. It isn't hard to find and it has a pretty view. I'll be there in fifteen." He used the table and Harry's leg to push himself up onto his feet before he walked out the same way Liam and Zayn had gone a few moments before, stopping momentarily to allow the hostess to scan his staff badge to pay for everyone's meal. 

"Did he just?..." Harry said, looking over at Niall and Gemma. 

"Harry, your boy toy is quite the mix of a gentleman and a party animal." Gemma commented with a wink, biting her tongue as she smiled. Niall seemed to find that cute, and he reached out to pinch her nose. She let out a high-pitched squeal, and Harry rolled his eyes. 

"I'm going to find the place Louis said. You guys make me want to puke." Harry said as he scooted out of the booth. Seeing his sister flirt with Niall was kind of cute, but at the same time, it was his sister. It made him feel uncomfortable, and he wasn't about to third wheel with them while they tried to find the ship. He would probably be better off alone anyway, and he waved goodbye to them before walking out to find where louis had said to meet him. 

The hallways of the ship felt abandoned when he walked alone, and it left him to sift through all of his thoughts and predictions of what was to come. The rest of the night could either go two ways. Harry could either get piss drunk and 'accidentally' start making out with Louis, or he could keep it calm and imagine things that were never going to happen. Option B was more likely. 

But option A was fun to imagine. 

He could see it now. Louis and him sitting cross legged on the front deck of the ship, drinking vodka straight from the bottle. The alcohol would burn the back of Harry's throat after every swallow, but he wouldn't mind at all. Once the bottle was half empty, Louis' head would rest in Harry's lap, and Harry's fingers would start gently tracing Louis' chest tattoo he had only seen part of earlier, and he would just look up at him with those blue eyes, and Harry would take another sip from the bottle. A few sips later, and they would be laying down and staring up at the stars, the rush of the ocean's water their only background music. Louis would roll over on top of him, and their faces would be only centimeters apart. Louis would tug on one of Harry's curls that laid on his forehead, and that would be the end. Harry could almost feel the pinch in his stomach, as if he was actually about to kiss the most beautiful boy he had ever seen. 

Of course, that wasn't going to happen. 

After walking for what seemed like ages, he approached the bow of the ship. Apparently, he took the long way, because Niall, Louis, and Gemma were already there. 

"Look who decided to join the party."A familiar voice teased, patting the spot beside him. 

Harry was hesitant, and confused. He saw three bottles, and a deck of cards spread out in the middle of the small circle the three had attempted to form. 

"Uh, Niall... Why's your shirt off?" 

"Strip poker. I'll deal you in, don't worry." Louis explained with a painfully wonderful smirk, "It'll be fun." 

Harry used his hands to steady himself as he lowered his body onto the ground, and he could feel his stomach violently attacking itself as he nervously smiled at Louis. God only knows how much self control he would need to keep himself from feeling up Louis once the game progressed. Just the thought of Louis' chest bare... Shit. 

Louis handed him a small hand of cards, and he looked down at the numbers. Gemma handed him a bottle of something and he took a swig of it without looking to see what it was. It burned as it went down his throat like acid, and he pressed his eyebrows together until the sensation went away. 

At this point, he wasn't exactly sure how long he had been on the ship now, but he did know that this night would go nothing like he had expected it to.


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk about this chapter i hope you kind of like it??

Goosebumps covered Harry's chest like a textured t-shirt, and he cuddled his legs closer to his torso so that his nipples wouldn't freeze off in the cold sea air. In one hand he tightly gripped his cards, and in the other he held his own bottle of vodka. Half of the tasteless drink had already disappeared, and the curly haired boy had definitely consumed enough to blur his vision. It wasn't entirely a bad thing, though. His thoughts and worries became less and less as more alcohol circulated through his bloodstream. His confidence in what he was doing grew as time passed also, and toward the end of their game, it helped him to think less about the almost-naked Louis sitting only an inch away from him. Gemma and Niall were across from them, her whole body leaning into Niall's side. She had obviously had a bit too much to drink, but Niall gladly restricted her from drinking any more after Harry had told her to stop. Undoubtedly, everyone would have a killer hangover in the morning. Maybe Zayn and Liam were the smart ones after all. 

"Shit," Louis muttered under his breath as he lost again. Harry watched him as he peeled off his last sock, and his stomach twisted into knots. The only article of clothing left was his boxer briefs, and Harry felt like a creep for staring at his body for so long. Louis didn't notice, though. He threw his cards down on the deck and stood up. Even in his drunken state, Harry figured Louis was not about to risk incarceration for public nudity on a cruise ship. "I think we should stop playing now."

"Aww, come on, Louis! Just because you're losing doesn't mean you have to bring the rest of us down!" Niall whined, his arms wrapped tightly around Gemma to keep her warm. After she lost for the third time, she had no other option and was forced to peel off her dress. Niall's cheeks turned the brightest red Harry had ever seen, but he managed to convince the Irish idiot to keep her warm ("For me," Harry had told him. He expected Niall to thank him for that later. He was proving to be one extraordinary wingman).

"I don't care. I'm not putting my arse out on display for you bastards all for a stupid card game!"

"Aww, but Louis! We even took you out to dinner first!" Harry said, putting on the best puppy dog face he could. He wasn't sure where all of this confidence came from, but he probably had the bottle of liquor to thank.

"Leave the poor boy alone, guys." Gemma said before yawning into Niall's bare upper arm. "I'm ready for bed..."

"Want me to take you up to your room?" Niall asked her, and she nodded. He stood up and held out his hands to aid her up also. Grabbing his shirt, he slipped his arms through the arm holes and pulled the collar over his head, adjusting the bottom to his liking. He grabbed Gemma's dress and handed it back to her with a shy smile. He received a kiss on the cheek in return, which made his cheeks turn a light pink as helped her zip up the back. 

"I'll leave the room key somewhere or something," Gemma told Harry, rubbing her eyes after grabbing her heels. "Goodnight guys."

"Goodnight," Harry and Louis replied in sync, both watching as Niall turned Gemma the right way, and led her towards the middle of the ship by the small of her back. 

"They're a cute couple, yeah?" Louis asked the younger boy. 

"Yeah, it's kind of weird, but it's cute." He replied with a slight shrug. 

There was a few minutes of awkward silence, shattered only by the soft sound of Louis tipping the glass bottle back to drink his last few drops of tequila. Harry asked Louis about mixing all of his liquors, but instead of providing a legitimate answer, Louis began telling him a long story about how he had partied so hard with his friends once that he had forgotten what happened. Harry wasn't interested in his words, but instead observed the way his lips moved with every word he said. It was mesmerizing, really, and Harry wondered how someone could be so pretty and still want to talk to an awkward boy like him. 

"You wanna go sit over there and look at the stars?" Louis finally asked Harry, snapping him out of his hypnotic state.

"Can't we look at them from right here?"

"Yeah, but over there is better."

"But that requires moving," Harry frowned, pulling his knees closer to his chest and giving Louis the puppy dog eyes. 

"Aw, don't give me that, Styles." Louis teased, looking over at Harry with a smirk. 

"Wait..." Harry paused, confused, "How do you know my last name?" He couldn't remember a time that he had mentioned that his last name was Styles, and he didn't think that Gemma would tell someone who they had only know for less than a day. 

Louis bent down and snatched up all of Harry's clothes, paying special attention to his shirt. "If lost please return to: Harry Styles. How cute." 

"My mom wrote that so that people wouldn't steal it." He said, his cheeks pink with embarrassment. He stood up and reached out to grab his shirt, but Louis yanked it away and Harry tripped over his own feet. His lanky body fell on top of Louis' tiny body, and they both quite literally hit the deck. Harry began to feel guilty, worried that he had hurt Louis, but when he quickly rolled off to the side, Louis just rolled on top of Harry and laughed. 

Uncontrollable laugher started between the both of them, and Louis' fringe hung in Harry's face, tickling his nose. His body was warm and smelled like mint, and although everything in Harry's mind was telling him not to do it, he couldn't help it. If it wasn't due to the fact that he could feel Louis' stomach move when he burst into giggles, it was the way that the moonlight created this perfect shadow on his face that made him look like he was carved from the finest piece of marble known to man. He looked so pretty, and Harry was so far from caring about his actions that when he reached up to tilt Louis' face toward his, he wasn't nervous or worried or thinking even.

It all happened within seconds, Harry's eyes closing instantly as he felt Louis' lips against his. Louis' lips were soft and tasted of the different liquors he had drank throughout the night. Harry felt his heart rate increase, and he felt like he was floating on a cloud instead of laying on the wet deck of a cruise ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Louis returned the kiss, mirroring the effort and sloppiness of Harry's. 

After one more kiss, Louis raised his head and smiled. "So, it's cold and I think we should put on our clothes and find a place to sit and drink the rest of the vodka that I have."

The corner of Harry's mouth turned up into a half smile, "I can't get dressed if you're on top of me."

"Oh, right then." Louis sat back, resting his hands on Harry's chest, and Harry tried to think about anything other than how Louis was straddling his hips and how their dicks were nearly touching.

Louis managed to stand up before Harry could think about it any more, and he threw Harry's shirt at him. "Come on now, no time to waste. The night is still young!"

"Okay," Harry replied, drawing out the 'a'. "But I really think you should put on your jeans first."

"Shame. I thought you were enjoying the no-jeans look." Louis replied sarcastically, not expecting Harry to give a truthful answer. 

"Actually yeah, it's pretty great. Not sure if the other people will think so though."

"Well," Louis said, pulling his legs through his trousers, "I say we should go to this little place with these comfortable couches, and we can drink and talk and have a jolly good time!" He finished over-excitedly, swinging his hooked arm across his chest. 

"Yeah, sure." Harry replied, flashing a quick smile. 

They both picked up the remainder of their belongings and began to walk inside. Harry nudged the shorter boy with his elbow and smiled as he swayed a bit before steadying himself again. 

"Nudge me again and I'll make you carry me on your back."

"But what if I fall?" Harry asked, furrowing his eyebrows. 

"That would be tragic, wouldn't it? Good thing I'm light." Louis replied, walking around to Harry's back and hopping on before any argument could begin. 

The taller boy stumbled slightly before regaining his balance, gripping onto Louis' ankles. "I thought I didn't have to do this unless I nudged you again."

"One thing you're going to learn about me is that I lie frequently." 

"Ah, so anything you've told me so far could've been a lie then?"

"Yes, but Harold dear, you need to realize that I only lie about certain things to certain people, and I wouldn't lie to you."

"You just lied to me." Harry pointed out, pausing for a moment to adjust Louis higher on his back. 

"The couches are to your left," Louis said, wiggling out of Harry's grip and standing on his own two feet. He had changed the subject pretty quick, but Harry shrugged it off and fell back into the squishy cushions of the couch, his eyes finding their way to Louis again. Louis flopped down on top of him, grinning at the younger boy. 

Harry let out a grunt as the weight of Louis' body hit him, but he managed to smile back. 

"Comfy place, yeah?" Louis asked him, sitting up so that he was straddling Harry's hips once again. 

"Yeah," Harry replied, flashing a sheepish smile. He wanted nothing more than to kiss him again, but with the way Louis had moved on so quickly from kiss earlier... But he figured that if he held onto Louis' hips that wouldn't be terrible. So, he reached out and gripped his hips, his thumbs running up and down, lifting up the hem of his shirt to feel the softness of his skin. 

Louis smiled at him as he rubbed his hips, "Pretty little boy, you are," Louis commented in a low voice, reaching down to pull at one of his curls. 

Was this the thing that his older sister had told him about? How everyone magically turned horny when they were drunk? Was he jumping to conclusions too fast? He really didn't want to scare Louis off... But he really wanted to kiss him again. 

"I-I mean... I'm not as pretty as you are..." 

"Aw, Harry babe don't doubt yourself. I mean, look at those lips." Louis tilted his head to the side and reached down for Harry's bright pink lips, pulling his bottom lip with a side smirk. He leaned down closer to Harry's face, and the younger boy could feel his cheeks turning red. "Absolutely perfect. Can't even imagine how they would look wrapped around a cock." 

Harry felt his heart stop for a minute, and he wasn't able to form words. He opened his mouth, but all that came out was "I, um... have a bad, uh... gag reflex..."

"Oh, shut up." Louis mumbled before sloppily pressing his lips against Harry's. Harry didn't have any time to react to anything, and his mind was so scattered that he didn't know what was happening. He felt Louis force his lips open, his tongue slipping between Harry's 'pretty' lips. Harry didn't know what to do with all of this, really. He hadn't kissed many people in his life, unless his mom and sister counted. Those kisses really weren't like these kisses though, and he just felt uneducated and helpless.

Louis seemed to know what to do, though, and he figured he would just let Louis do whatever he wanted. He knew he could trust him, even if he did tell little white lies occasionally. 

He continued to try to kiss the hot towel boy back until his lips were bright pink and tired and Louis pulled away to steady his breathing. Harry let out a small wince in protest but was quickly silenced by Louis leaning down to suck a bruise into his collarbone. Harry bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep from making any sounds, but he failed. Soft whimpers escaped from his lips, which only encouraged Louis to use more force. 

So, maybe Louis was a bit interested in Harry and maybe Harry felt the same way, which was both good and bad. At the moment, he couldn't really go into detailed thought about it though. 

"Do you like me, Harold?" Louis asked suddenly, pulling away from his collarbone to look him in the eyes.

"What?"

"Do you, Harry Styles, like me, Louis Tomlinson?" 

"I-I mean, yes? Why wouldn't I?" Harry was trying so hard to focus on him, but the effects of the alcohol had begun worn off and the aftershock of it had set in. 

"You don't seem like you like me." 

"What do you mean I don't 'seem' like I like you?"

"You're sitting there and you don't seem like you're enjoying yourself."

"I-I don't know how to kiss." Harry defended himself with a frown. "I'm rubbish at it."

"You're joking, right?" Louis asked, sitting up and resting his hands on Harry's chest. "You're not bad at it."

"I think I'm bad at it." He argued back, still wearing the frown. 

"Well, I could fucking teach you if that's what the problem is."

"That's embarrassing... I don't want you to have to teach me."

"I'm going to teach you." 

"No, I don't want it."

"Yes."

"Okay, fine," Harry said, agreeing so that Louis wouldn't be angry with him or something. 

"So, first don't pucker your lips like you were kind of doing."

"Like this?" Harry asked, sticking out his lips extra far just to be a little shit. Louis rolled his eyes, pressed his lips down with his fingers, and continued to talk. 

"Yeah, sure. You know what I mean. Now, usually it just happens like this but one person has the other person's bottom lip in between their lips. I'm not sure if that's all of the time, but with my experiences, that's happened most of the time." 

"Okay..." Harry replied hesitantly, using his arms to prop himself up. He moved his face closer to Louis' and shut his eyes as their lips connected once again. Louis' hands moved quickly to the back of his head, his fingers running through Harry's soft brown curls. Harry, in return, shuffled back so that he could lean against the arm rest of the couch, and he grabbed Louis' hips in his hands again. 

Harry supposed he was right. It wasn't that hard if you relaxed your lips, and it felt nice having his bottom lip between Louis', especially when Louis bit down on Harry's lip and tugged at it a bit. It wasn't too hard, this kissing thing. As long as Harry went along with what Louis did-

"Okay, you're picking up on this pretty quickly," Louis said with a proud smile, brushing pieces of Harry's hair out of his forehead. "I think you're ready for more." 

"More? What do you me-" 

Louis reattached his and Harry's lips and that seemed to shut him up pretty quickly. He thought that the kissing was more than enough, but he didn't expect it when Louis began rolling his hips down, creating friction against his dick. Harry's stomach felt like it was twisting in knots, and he was beginning to get hard, but that wasn't what he wanted. He knew that Louis could potentially feel it soon if this continued, and he would get embarrassed, so he pulled away and smiled. 

"Maybe I'm not ready for that. I'm quite tired, to be frank, and you have work tomorrow." Harry pressed a quick kiss to Louis' lips and pinched his hips to try to get him off. 

"Well, we have two options," Louis said, "Either we could try to go back to your room, or we could pretend that Gemma 'locked you out', and I could take you back to my room with me."

"Um," Harry's chest felt heavy, and he wasn't sure if it was because of Louis inviting him back to his room, or because of the chance that Robin would find out Harry spent the night with a guy. "I'm not sure that's a good idea... I think I should go back to my room." 

"Okay, well I could walk you there so you don't get stolen. A pretty little thing like you needs protection."

"I'm-I'm fine, thanks. I can find my own way back to the room." Harry hadn't wanted to say that, but he had to. He knew he had to. 

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I think it's for the best." 

"Oh... Okay then." Louis stood up on the couch and stepped off onto the ground. "I'll uh, see you around tomorrow then."

"Yeah," Harry said excitedly, sitting up from the couch and standing up next to Louis. He nearly towered over the towel boy, which made a goofy smile appear on his face. "I'll come to the pool tomorrow so I can watch you work."

"No, you don't want to see me in those khakis and that polo. They're absolutely horrific." 

"Whatever. I think they look good. Goodnight, Louis." Harry said with a smile, leaning down a bit to press a kiss to his lips. 

Louis smiled in return, "Goodnight, Harry Styles."

Harry watched as he walked away from him and sighed. He really really really wanted to go back to Louis' room, but he couldn't. If the lovebite didn't cause him enough stress already, he could've gotten more or bruises in other places or something. He wasn't even completely sure how he was supposed to explain the one he had now. Robin would throw him off of the moving ship if he found out that he had received it from a guy. It wasn't that he didn't know that Harry was gay, it was just that he was extremely homophobic and became uncomfortable when Harry mentioned anything about a guy. But he loved Harry's mother enough to not mind the fact that her son was gay. Only Gemma was allowed to bring home guys for dinners, though. Harry didn't mind that, but it would be nice to have acceptance from his family. Oh well...

Figuring that it was time to go back to his own room, he began to slowly make his way down the hallway towards what he figured would be the main elevators. All he remembered was that his room was near those somewhere on the ninth floor. But he would eventually find his way there.

As he walked down the lonely hallway, he couldn't help but smile to himself. He just kissed the prettiest boy he had ever seen, and he may have been slightly intoxicated while doing it but wow, it was amazing. Were sober kisses as fun as those that he had just had? He tried to imagine it as he peered down at his hands, but he couldn't come up with anything. For now, he would just have to fantasize about it.

\--

He finally arrived at the room he shared with his sister, and he shook his head. She actually had just left the room key on the floor in front of the door for him. Thank god it hadn't been stolen. 

He slid the card into the slot and pulled it out slowly. The little light turned green and he quietly turned the handle, sneaking inside so that he didn't wake Gemma. It wouldn't have mattered though, because she was wide awake, sitting in bed watching infomercials. 

"How was it after we left?" Gemma asked, smirking slightly with tired eyes. 

Harry looked at her and shook his head, "Shut up, Gemma. Nothing happened." He began to unbutton his shirt, figuring he would just get undressed and go to bed since he was too tired to really do anything. 

"Mmhmm, the lovebite tells me otherwise, love." 

Harry looked to his sister and sighed, "Okay, I thought it wasn't that noticeable... Fuck."

"Pretty noticeable. I suggest you wear t-shirts until it goes away. None of that scoopneck shit, okay?"

"Right," He pulled off his jeans and threw his clothes under his bed. "Goodnight, sister."

"Goodnight, little brother! I love you!" Gemma said a bit too loud and over dramatically. 

"Yeah, whatever." Harry said before climbing into his bed, pulling the covers over his nose and mouth so only his eyes were visible. "Wake me up when you get up." He mumbled into the covers before shutting his eyes. Gemma tried to say something to him, but he really couldn't remember what she said because as soon as his eyes shut, he was thinking about Louis. He was so turned on before, and so was Harry. God only know what would've happened if they had continued on with that. His dick was probably just as pretty as his face, and he wanted Harry's lips around it. Were Harry's lips even worthy of that? He didn't even know how to give a blowjob. Was giving a blowjob even the proper term for it? Louis probably would've taught him about all of this and it probably would've been amazing. 

Fuck, he really wished he would've gone back to his room with him now.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! if you would like to give me feedback, my tumblr is http://swirlycactus.tumblr.com and my twitter is http://twitter.com/60slarry


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